Double Tonguing

[FltnPicc_David]

As I step into working with harder pieces, it's obvious that double tonguing is something that pops up a lot more [especially in some of the french pieces I'm studying] but that whole tuh-kuh thing confuses me. Does your tongue hit your teeth on tuh and then the roof of your mouth on kuh? I'm really confused by it and single tonguing really fast doesnt help much. PLEASE HELP! Thanks in advanced!

[sidekicker]

I would think of it more as "tee-kee-tee-kee" rather than "tuh-kuh-tuh-kuh". This should place the tip of your tongue and the back part of your tongue, both of which touch the roof of the mouth in different places, closer together (or at least it feels that way because a "kuh" position for most people causes the jaw to drop more than with a "kee"). This should result in a more even double tongue technique. At least, that's what I do. But everybody has different anatomy, so you need to experiment and see what works best in terms of facility and evenness.

SK

[flutepicc06]

I find that tee-kee and tuh-kuh are pretty similar in placement, but you don't necessarily have to use any of the normal syllabic devices. Anything that gets your tongue to hit in two separate places (once at the tip, and once somewhere further back) that allows you to get the sound you want is fair game. As SK suggested, you'll want to experiment with how you're trying to double tongue until you find what works for you. Other pretty common syllables to use are Duh-guh or Doo-goo. As you're learning try reversing whatever syllables you're using (kuh-tuh, kee-tee, etc.) to make sure that both strokes are even sounding.